BUS LICENSING PROBLEMS AT BRADFORD.
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Another Important Appeal Against the Authorities Refusal of Licences. The Attitude of the Minister of Transport Towards Through Routes.
ANOTHER important passenger transport appeal has just been heard in Bradford, where licensing matters are creating much interest. Bradford has always endeavoured to protect its tramways against private motor omnibus competition, and it was only after an appeal to the High Court that the West Riding Automobile Co., Ltd., of Wakefield, secured licences for a through service, between Wakefield and Bradford, which runs for any distance on the tram track. The corporation now basin readiness a Bill, which is to come before Parliament this year, seeking powers to run municipallyowned omnibuses over a very wide area. One of the routes which it is desired to cover is that between Keighley and Bradford through Frizinghtdl, Shipley and Bingley to Keighley. The tramways ot Bradford serve over six miles of this route, to Crossflatts, in the area of the Bingley Urban District Council, to a point within two miles of the Keighley trolley vehicle route, which terminates near tire Keighley borough boundary.
The Keighley Corporation runs a motor-omnibus service into the town of Bingley, and has a joint booking arrangement for passengers to be transferred from its omnibuses to the Bradford tramcars at Crossflatts, the through fare being is. id., which is id. less than the cheap market tickets on the railway. On the route from Keighley to Bingley the Premier Transport Co. (Keighley), Ltd., runs a bus service in competition with the Keighley Corporation omnibus service, and for some time it has continued that service through to Bradford under a system of return tickets only, as it was unable to get licences to ply for hire from the Bradford authorities. The service runs an to private ground in Bradford and passengers are not picked up in the streets unless they have return tickets. When commencing the service the Premier Co. picked up passengers in the area of the Shipley Urban District Council, which adjoins the city of Bradford, but it was asked to refrain from doing so by the Shipley authorities, apparently because the receipts on the Bradford tramways were being affected.
At a recent inquiry in Bradford before Mr. P. 0. Langley, of the Ministry of Transport, a further appeal was made by the Premier Transport Co., Ltd., and from the remarks passed by the inspector it would appear that the Ministry will recommend that licences should be granted. The inspector pointed out that it was the object of the Ministry to encourage the establishment of through routes.
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It was stated by Mr. F. J. Wrottesley, KG., for the applicants, that the service of the company was extended from Bingley to Bradford during the general strike, and its object was to run a through service from -Skipton to Bradford. He outlined the arrangement which was made by the company when the licences were refused by Bradford, whereby books of tickets were issued.
In spite of that restricted manner of operation, however, 41,000 passengers were carried between Bingley and Bradford during a period of nine weeks. It was only right, he said, that proper communications should exist and he did not think that the proposition would be contested, for the Bradford Corporation was launching a private Bill to enable it to do exactly what the company was doing. Mr. Wrottesley urged that more than the usual transport was needed for the district, as workers had to live away from their work on account of the works and warehouses being so closely packed.
Mr. A. W. Tucker, traffic manager of the company, spoke as to the queues of people he had seen waiting at Dingley for tramcars to take them to Bradford. A petition in support of the appeal was signed by 3,000 persons. A person wishing to travel by bus from Skipton to Bradford had now to take a bus to Cross Hills, change into another for Keighley, take a third bus to Crossflatts and finally travel into Bradford by tram. The journey, assuming that connections were caught without loss of time, took 2 hours and 10 minutes. Granted a through service the buses of the Premier Transport Co., Ltd., would cover the distance in I. hour 20 minutes. A journey to Coins would be done in 40 minutes less than the present service. Only three buses per hour would enter Bradford.
Mr. Fred Pickering, the secretary of the Bradford Chamber of Trade, spoke in support of the application, stating that toe service was at present inadequate for Keigldey and for the places beyond. He added that Bradford was one of the worst cities in the country in the matter of tram services, and they, as Bradford ratepayers, would welcome the competition of the buses.
Mr. Leathern, on behalf of the corporation, said the municipality contended there was an adequate service to Bingley, and that the appellants had not shown that the volume of traffic from keighley was such that the present service should be euplicated.
Mr. Wrottesley later stated that, so far as it could be done, the Premier Transport Co., Ltd., would, if granted licenee.s,, not try to capture the Bradford Corporation's tram traffic.
The inspector said he would make a note that the tramway fare to Saltaire was 3d., and if the appeal were allowed he bad a definite undertaking from the company that there would be a minimum fare of 3d., and it would definitely not cater for the short-distance traffic of the tramways.
Mr. Leathern said the corporation was promoting a Bill to obtain powers to run omnibuses outside the city, but it must be remembered that the views of the corporation and the licensing committee were not associated. The licensing committee's contention was that the route between Bradford and . Bingley was adequately served by existing facilities. He added that the protection the tramways manager would like would be a minimum fare of 2d. more than the tramway fare. This would ensure that passengers on the buses were those travelling long distances.
The chief constable of Bradford said he acted in an advisory capacity to the licensing committee. To a question addressed to him by the inspector as to whether Ire was aware, when he advised the committee in this matter, that the policy of the Ministry was to encourage through road services, the chief constable said he was not.
The inspector said lie thought that the Bradford Corporation bad been entirely under a misunderstanding concerning the bus policy of the Ministry, which remained the same in connection with through routes, despite the recent refusal to grant the Huddersfield Corporation sanction for a through service between the town and Bradford.
The decision of the Ministry will be made known at a later date.